The runes do not bode well for Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. It was set to star Heath Ledger and now, with half the film unfinished, its future is in question. We get wind of this story from our friends at cinematical:
After the shocking death of Heath Ledger yesterday, some fans wondered about The Dark Knight, while others were curious about Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. While the bat-flick wrapped earlier, Variety reports that there was still a lot of work ahead for the Python alum’s next movie: “The $30 million indie pic wrapped the London leg of its shoot last Saturday. The production team has moved to Vancouver, Canada, where blue-screen work was due to start next week and continue until early March.” The project, which also includes the likes of Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, and Tom Waits, focuses on “the story of an ancient traveling show which arrives in modern London with a magical mirror that can transport its audience into fantastical realms of the imagination.”
This sounds like a cool project and I hope they are able to save it. I wonder if they are going to pull a “Game Of Death” and try to complete the movie using stand ins, and/or a CGI likeness. It is hard to say, Gilliam and his camp are no doubt scrambling for answers amidst a period of grieving. Today those involved in the project wear unfortunate shoes indeed.
As sad a time as it is for all, Ledger’s leaving is going to create a fallout for many and we will have to wait and see how Gilliam and Co. deal with this unfortunate turn of events. 30 Million is a massive loss, and to have such a cool story hit the cutting room floor would be a shame.
